Civics Reborn

A Crystal man was charged Friday with one felony count of aggravated theft by swindle after stealing nearly $128,000 for several people in a car refurbishing scheme first investigated by WCCO in 2011. According to the Hennepin County Attorney’s office, 24-year-old Zachary Maxwell Moore stole $127,839 from 33 people over two years, several of whom originally paid his company, Civics Reborn, to refurbish old Honda Civics. Defendants claim that Moore was initially attentive with customers until after they paid for the car and refurbishments in full, then he became almost impossible to contact. He also moved his company’s location six times, failing to pay full rent to each landlord before relocating.

WCCO-TV brought you a story in May about a Minneapolis based car business benefiting from high gas prices. The company, Civics Reborn, puts new parts in used Honda Civics. But in the weeks after the story aired, WCCO received a growing number of customers with complaints, saying the business needs a tune up